Tag: Gregg Drinnan

Scattershooting on a Sunday night after returning to the restaurant scene after a lengthy absence . . .

Scattershooting2

One of the really unfortunate thing about the past 18 months — or however long this damned pandemic has dominated our lives — is how so much of the fight against it has been politicized, seemingly right from the start, and how no two jurisdictions seem capable of working together on any part of this.

Well, other than the Maritime provinces and their travel bans, that is.

But take the parties that are planned for Regina and Winnipeg later in the week.

In Regina, the Roughriders are scheduled to play their CFL regular-season opener on Friday against the B.C. Lions. The game is to be played in front of a sold-out Mosaic Stadium, which means more than 33,000 fans. All are welcomed, including those who are unvaccinated or not yet fully vaccinated.

As Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post put it: “You can’t bring peanuts, blow horns, selfie sticks or sunflower seeds into Mosaic Stadium, but you can bring in COVID-19. Proof of vaccination is not required for entry.”

Then, on Saturday, the defending Grey Cup-champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers — they won it in 2019, the last time the CFL played a game — are to entertain the Hamilton Tigers-Cats at IG Field, likely in front of around 33,000 fans. You must be fully vaccinated if you want to attend that game.

Vaccine

Adam H. Beasley of profootballnetwork.com reported on Sunday that “the NFL currently has more than 50 players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including nine Arizona Cardinals, the most of any team in the league.” . . . He also reported that “nearly 10 per cent of Washington Football Team’s roster” is on the list. . . . Ron Rivera, the WFT’s head coach, is a cancer survivor and, as a result, has a compromised immune system. He spoke out last week about being disappointed and frustrated with the reluctance of some players on the team to get vaccinated . . .

George Godsey, the Miami Dolphins’ co-offensive co-ordinator, also has tested positive. One of the Dolphins on the list is tight end Adam Shaheen, who is an anti-vaxxer. . . . Keep in mind that being on the COVID-19 list doesn’t mean a player tested positive. It might be a case of someone having been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive. . . .

On Saturday, the Minnesota Vikings had one QB test positive with two others identified as close contacts. As a result, starter Kirk Cousins, backup Nate Stanley and freshman Kellen Mood all missed practice, leaving Jake Browning as the only QB available for practice. Head coach Mike Zimmer said that Browning is fully vaccinated to didn’t have to isolate like the other three. . . . “I am disappointed that this happened,” Zimmer said. “I’m frustrated with, not just my football players that won’t get vaccinated, I’m frustrated with everybody . . . It’s disappointing.” . . . As for Browning, Zimmer added: “Jake’s really smart. He’s vaccinated.”

Voodoo

So . . . I ate in a restaurant for the first time in 16 months on Sunday evening. In the interim, I have seen lots of stories on social media relating to restaurant staff being mistreated by impatient customers. So I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when one of the young women working in this particular restaurant stopped by our table to catch her breath. She obviously just needed a shoulder for a few minutes. . . . Between dealing with those of us eating inside and lots of takeout orders, the staff was running, running, running. It seems that one customer spotted her order sitting under the warming lights, so just had to get up on her hind legs and bark, wondering if she was supposed to “come back there and get my order.” . . . In telling us what had happened, this employee was almost in tears. . . . Have people always been this miserable, or have they lost their humanity in this pandemic? Or maybe the smoke in these parts made this customer lose her marbles.

BTW, if you’re wondering about not eating in a restaurant for 16 months, let me just say that you really, really take this pandemic seriously when your significant other has a compromised immune system. Yes, we will be wearing our masks for a long, long time.

So . . . what does Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmugeon, think of the new Guardiansnickname for Cleveland’s MLB franchise? Well, after noting that team officials said they had considered 1,200 possibilities before narrowing it down to one, he wrote:

“How did you wind up with a team name as lame as the Cleveland Guardians?

“Seriously, if I woke you up from a dead sleep at 2 a.m., and asked you to give me all your free association thoughts that go with ‘Cleveland,’ would you have gotten to ‘Guardians’ any time before 6 a.m.? The explanation offered is that the team is named in alignment with four large statues on a bridge in Cleveland and the statues are known collectively as the ‘Guardians of Traffic.’  It took almost two years and 1,199 other possible names to come up with that. Well, OK then . . .”

The curmudgeonly one had a great week at the keyboard. On Thursday, while ranting about the “proposed movement of Texas and Oklahoma” football from the Big-12 to the SEC, he wrote: “Texas A&M officials have been less-than-happy about the Texas move since the Aggies have been the sole focus of SEC football in the state of Texas for the last decade. Of course, the reason that has been the case is that Texas A&M switched conferences from the Big 12 to the SEC back in 2012 — but let us not bring that up now.”

Then he added: “The Big-12 Commissioner’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to ESPN saying that ESPN had lured the two schools away from the Big-12 thereby doing harm to the conference and the other schools in the Conference. I assume the ESPN lawyers are drafting a response that is the legal and more genteel version of “WTF are you smoking?”

Don Mattingly, the manager of the Miami Marlins, tested positive on Saturday, so wasn’t around has his club lost to the visiting New York Yankees. He also missed Sunday’s loss to the Yankees, the club with which he played 14 seasons (1982-95). Mattingly, 60, who has mild symptoms, is fully vaccinated. . . . Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers are without pitchers Jake Cousins, Jandel Gustave and Hunter Strickland. Cousins and Strickland have tested positive; Gustave was identified as a close contact. The Brewers also are without OF Christian Yelich, who tested positive earlier in the week, and INF Jace Peterson, who was a close contact.

Idiots

Seattle Times — At least 60 Seattle bars and restaurants now require proof of vaccination to eat on their premises.

Bruce Jenkins, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Great stuff from the Olympic baseball and softball tournaments: A pitch clock (20 seconds with nobody on base) and a rule demanding that batters keep at least one foot in the box between pitches. Pay attention, MLB. There’s your key to shortening the games.”

PatenaudeEd (Rusty) Patenaude, who played in each of the WHL’s first four seasons, has died. He was 71 when he passed away from complications due to Guillain Barre Syndrome in Williams Lake, B.C. . . . Patenaude played two seasons (1966-68) with the Moose Jaw Canucks in what was then the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League. He spent the next two seasons with the Calgary Centennials in the Western Canada Hockey League, the CMJHL having changed its name. . . . In 218 regular-season games, he scored 115 goals and added 121 assists. . . . He went on to play six seasons in the WHA — one with the Alberta Oilers, four with the Edmonton Oilers and one with the Indianapolis Racers.

F Jayden Perron of Winnipeg has made a commitment to play for the U of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, starting in 2023-24. . . . Perron, 16, is expected to play for the USHL’s Chicago Steel in 2021-22. . . . He was the Portland Winterhawks’ first selection in the WHL’s 2020 bantam draft, going to them in the second round, 23rd overall. In 2019-20, Perron had 104 points, including 46 goals, in 36 games for the U15 AAA Winnipeg Warriors A team.

David

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Grandma

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while wondering if London will be OK in the morning . . .

Scattershooting2

Smoke
The South Thompson River valley from our deck on Sunday, 6:45 p.m. Somewhere behind the smoke in mid-photo is Mount Martin. And over on the right, somewhere beyond the river, is the Trans-Canada Highway.

Virus

Cole Beasley, a receiver with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, has said that he won’t get vaccinated, adding: “I may die of Covid, but I’d rather die actually living.” To which Ron Borges of si.com wrote: “How many times has this guy been hit on the head again?”

——

Bob Molinaro, in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot: “Buffalo Bills anti-vaxxer, anti-masker Cole Beasley tweeted, ‘I may die of COVID, but I’d rather die actually living.’ What a drama queen. One who sings in the key of me. The comic irony of NFL players avoiding vaccine needles is that in their line of work, they get shot up more often than race horses.”

Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, drops the hammer on the nail with this one: “Joey Chestnut set a new world’s record in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4. Chestnut ate 76 hotdogs — and buns, of course — in the 10-minute event. Here is a task for historians and observers of societal/cultural trends: At exactly what point did gluttony cease to be one of the seven deadly sins and become a sport?”

Headline at The Onion on July 18, 2011: “U.S. Quietly Slips Out Of Afghanistan In Dead Of Night.”
Headline at the BBC on July 6, 2021: “US left Bagram Airbase at night with no notice, Afghan commander says.”

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels is going to pitch and DH in Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game. If you haven’t been paying attention to him, you should. Here’s Angels manager Joe Maddon explaining why: “We all romanticize what it would have been like to watch Babe Ruth play — he pitched, really? I mean, you hear this stuff and it’s a larger-than-life concept. Now we’re living it. So don’t underestimate what we’re seeing.”

If you aren’t familiar with Kaye Kaminishi, please allow Google to be your friend. Kaminishi is 99 years of age now. He is the last surviving member of the Asahi baseball team — he played third base. Again, let Google be your friend. . . . The Asahi team was huge in Vancouver in the years before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After the bombing, Kaminishi was one of those rounded up and taken to an internment camp in the Interior of B.C. . . . One day in June 2013, I visited his Kamloops home. The plan was to write a short story about Kaminishi’s exploits on the badminton court. I ended up writing a pair of lengthy stories on a man who didn’t have a bitter bone in his body despite the wrongs that had been forced upon him. He really and truly is a remarkable human being.

I spent some time over the past few days watching the visiting Detroit Tigers play the Minnesota Twins. And what a treat it was to listen to Jim Kaat, who was riding shotgun with play-by-play man Dick Bremer. The ex-southpaw known as Kitty is 82 now but he hasn’t lost a step. It was just so great to listen to someone whose analysis wasn’t full of launch angles, exit velocities, spin rates and barrel rates.

Canada Soccer has cancelled a bunch of 2021 national championships due to the pandemic. From a news release: “Canada Soccer’s Toyota National Championships, which include the U-15 Cup, U-17 Cup, Jubilee and Challenge Trophy, as well as the Eastern and Western Masters competitions, have been cancelled for 2021 in respect of the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic related to participant health and safety.”

So . . . England scored in the second minute to take a 1-0 lead over Italy in Sunday’s UEFA Euro Cup final at London’s Wembley Stadium. Italy, of course, went on to win on penalties, after which the fun started in the city streets. Gee, instead of blaming the three young fellows who came up empty in penalties, perhaps England fans should be wondering why their favourites didn’t push harder for a second goal during regulation time.

Headline at theonion.com: Bob Baffert Once Again Denies Doping Allegations After Medina Spirit Wins Coca-Cola 600.

Drunk

At least 13 players have withdrawn from the British Open that is scheduled to start Thursday at Royal St. George’s. That includes Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who is isolating after testing positive for COVID-19, and Bubba Watson, a two-time Master champ who came in contact with someone who was positive.

Right-hander Aaron Nola was to have started Sunday for the Philadelphia Phillies against the host Boston Red Sox. But he had to be scratched after being placed on the COVID-19 injured list, along with RHP Connor Brogdon, LHP Bailey Falter and 3B Alec Bohm. . . . Bohm was taken out of Saturday’s game against the Red Sox after testing positive. . . . Nola, Brogdon and Falter went on the list as close contacts. Brogdon and Falter both played in Saturday’s game; in fact, Falter got the victory in an 11-2 triumph. . . . I was watching the Phillies and Red Sox on Sunday and Boston’s TV crew mentioned that neither team has reached the 85 per cent vaccination threshold needed for some restrictions to be loosened. . . .

Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners placed RHP Yusei Kikuchi on the COVID-19 list on Sunday. He tested positive after showing symptoms, but is fully vaccinated. He since has tested negative, and needs just one more such result in order to be cleared to play in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. . . . The Mariners went over the 85 per cent threshold late in May.

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: Chadd Cassidy is the new general manager and head coach of the USHL’s Omaha Lancers. Cassidy spent the previous five years coaching at the Northwood School in Lake Placid, N.Y. In Omaha, he replaces former WHL player David Wilkie, 47, who, according to a news release, “stepped down earlier to pursue other opportunities.” Wilkie played four seasons (1990-94) in the WHL, playing with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Kamloops Blazers and Regina Pats. . . . The Val-d’Or Foreurs have signed Maxime Desruisseaux, 37, as their new head coach. He had been an associate coach with the Victoriaville Tigres. In Val-d’Or, Desruisseaux takes over from Daniel Renaud. Shortly after Val-d’Or lost to Victoriaville in the QMJHL final, the Foreurs announced that they and Renaud had gone their separate ways by mutual agreement.

Wishbone

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while wondering how much smoke awaits tomorrow . . .

Scattershooting2

By now you probably have heard about the USOC having suspended sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson over a positive test for marijuana. She has accepted the disciplinary action and has said that she was dealing with the death of her mother at the time. Of course, marijuana isn’t performance-enhancing, but it’s still on WADA’s banned list. Still, as Seth Rogen, who knows a thing or two about weed, put it: “If weed made you fast, I’d be FloJo.”

A note from Janice Hough, aka the Left Coast Sports Babe: “Wonder how many advertisers signed up expected an NBA final with the Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets? Oops.”

Bear

For whatever reason, Ken Campbell no longer is writing for The Hockey News after what was a lengthy run. Now he’s a freelancer and has set up shop at Substack. . . . Campbell is a hockey writer. Period. He never has been beholden to anyone in the game and he writes like it. . . . If you check on his new site, you’ll find pieces like the one referred to in the above tweet. The NHL has made a new hire and, well, you have to read Campbell’s piece to believe it. . . . He also is providing almost-instant analysis as things happen in the hockey world. For example, it may have been Canada Day on Thursday, but that didn’t stop Campbell from writing about the Arizona Coyotes’ new head coach and a trade between the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators. That piece is right here. . . . It’s worth your while to check out Campbell’s new home.

Larry Brooks, in the New York Post: “ I read something the other day about how Ryan Nugent-Hopkins reupping with the Oilers on an eight-year deal for an average annual value of $5.125 million coincides with Edmonton’s Stanley Cup window remaining open, and I must confess, the joke went way over my head.”

Peas

Ferrisposter

Bruce Jenkins, in the San Francisco Chronicle: “Here’s a hearty toast to the WNBA, which recently announced a 99 percent vaccination rate among its players and no positive tests since the start of the season. If only that were the norm in a country tarnished by rockhead thinking. On the verge of playing for the College World Series championship (a run that included a 10-4 win over Stanford), North Carolina State was sent home due to positive tests and contact tracing protocols. It seems coach Elliott Avent just couldn’t be bothered, saying he didn’t want to ‘get political’ or ‘indoctrinate’ his players to get vaccinated. Talk about shocking ignorance of the big picture.”

Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News explains how it was that the Yankees got swept by the Red Sox in Boston last weekend: “The Yankees had a DH playing first, a second baseman who ought to be at first playing second, a second baseman playing short, a third baseman in left, a right fielder in center, and left fielder in right.”

——

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Marriage

Blazers, city mourn Moores’ death . . . Rockets extend head coach . . . Silvertips grab Finn with second pick

The Kamloops Blazers and, indeed, the City of Kamloops were stunned KamloopsWednesday by the death of Don Moores, the WHL franchise’s president, chief operating officer and alternate governor. . . . Moores, 65, died at the Kamloops Golf and Country Club. He collapsed on the third hole — he had started on the back nine, so was playing his 12th hole of the day — at around noon. According to Environment Canada, the temperature in Kamloops at noon was 39.1C with a humidex of 42C. . . . Earl Seitz of CFJC-TV in Kamloops reported that Moores died of a heart attack. . . . Alec Hubert, the golf club’s general manager, told Marty Hastings of Kamloops This Week that he and others got to the third hole with cold water and medical equipment. “We went out there and did the best we could,” Hubert said. . . . He added that Moore had stopped at the clubhouse after nine holes and “grabbed a sandwich” and that all appeared to be fine. . . . A native of Kamloops, Moores played for the WHL’s Kamloops Chiefs (1973-76) and later was an assistant coach with the Blazers (1985-90). . . . Moores was introduced as the club president on June 30, 2016, exactly five years prior to his death. . . . As word of Moore’s death spread, the hockey world and fans flooded social media with messages of condolences for Moores’ family and for the Blazers. . . . Hastings’ complete story is right here. . . . Moores’ death leaves a huge hole atop the Blazers’ organizational tree. The team also is operating without a general manager as Matt Bardsley’s final day was Wednesday after he guided the club through the CHL’s import draft. Bardsley announced on May 25 that he was resigning after three years as GM, even though he had three years left on his contract, in order to move his wife and two children back to the U.S. to be closer to family.

The WHL’s Kelowna Rockets have signed head coach Kris Mallette to a multi-Rocketsyear contract extension. The news release announcing the signing didn’t indicate the length of the extension. . . . Mallette, 42, joined the Rockets as an assistant coach prior to the 2014-15 season. . . . He was named head coach on March 2, 2020, after a short stint as the interim head coach following the firing of Adam Foote. Because of the pandemic, Mallette has on 25 games as a head coach under his belt, going 15-7-3. . . . He is a former WHL defenceman, having played with the Rockets and Moose Jaw Warriors (1997-2000).

The Everett Silvertips were the first WHL team to make a selection in the CHL Everettimport draft on Wednesday and they took F Niko Huuhtanen of Finland second overall. Huuhtanen turned 18 on Saturday. . . . A 6-foot-1, 200-pound right winger, he played for Tappara’s U20 team in Finland last season, putting up 20 goals and 14 assists in 37 games. He also played at the IIHF U-18 World championship, scoring two goals and adding three assists in seven games. . . . Huuhtanen is eligible for the NHL’s 2021 draft. NHL Central Scouting rated him 49th among European skaters. . . . Interestingly, Huuhtanen signed a two-year contract with Tappara on May 19. That deal runs through 2022-23. Tappara plays in Liiga, the country’s top pro league. . . . In an Everett news release, Dennis Williams, the Silvertips’ interim general manager and head coach, said: “We’re excited to have him, and he’s excited to become a Silvertip.” . . . The news release didn’t mention Huuhtanen’s contractual status with Tappara. . . . You are able to find the complete import draft right here.

Parents

The NHL’s Arizona Coyotes are expected to introduce Andre Tourigny as their new head coach today (Thursday). . . . Tourigny had been the head coach and vice-president of hockey operations with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s for the past four seasons. The move also means that Hockey Canada will have to find a new head coach for the country’s national junior team. Tourigny had been the team’s head coach for two years, including this year. He also is an assistant coach with Canada’s world championship team. . . . The Coyotes parted company with head coach Rick Tocchet after their 2020-21 season came to an end.

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: The OHL’s Owen Sound Attack has signed Greg Walters, 50, to a two-year contract as head coach. He spent the previous two seasons as head coach of the Oshawa Generals. In Owen Sound, Walters takes over from Alan Letting, who left the team in June and later was named head coach of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting. . . . Jerry Keefe is the new head coach of the Northeastern U Huskies. Keefe had been an assistant coach with the Huskies for the past 10 seasons. He takes over from Jim Madigan, who had been the head coach since 2011-12 and recently was named the school’s athletic director.

Dog

Scattershooting on a Saturday night while waiting for the really hot weather to arrive . . .

Scattershooting2

Deck
This was the temperature in the sun on our deck on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Yes, it was in the sun. But it was still 33 C at 9:45 p.m. Oh, and it’s only supposed to get hotter from here.

Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, with a couple of thoughts about the tacky mess in which MLB finds itself:

“Two substances I’m not sure pitchers have tried: Tar from the LaBrea Tar Pits in Los Angeles (Mastadon Mud), and lemon meringue. Or a combo.

“Why are pitchers complaining? Because they are the biggest divas in sports, with the possible exception of bullfighters. Pitchers have been allowed to drag down the pace of play by treating every pitch like it’s a 20-foot putt for the Masters’ green jacket. Let the pitchers eat some humble pie. But not lemon meringue.”

The MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders held their annual general meeting on StampedersThursday night and announced a profit of $178,702. How did that happen in what was a pandemic-riddled season? Well, according to the team, it “had received close to $83,000 in government assistance programs, which include the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, CEBA loans and Manitoba Bridge Grants.” . . . As well, Cramer Coulthart, the team president, said that “year over year we generated approximately the same revenue, but expenses were down” $250,000. He added that “with the (season) cut short, the majority of season-ticket holders and sponsors have donated some or all of their packages back to the team. This puts us in a much better position moving forward into 2021-22 season.” . . . A year ago, at their AGM, the Stampeders announced they had lost $80,906 in the 2019-20 season, leaving them in the red to the tune of about $240,000. The profit from the 2020-21 season, then, will take a big chunk out of that debt.

Mike Lupica, in the New York Daily News: “One of these days former hero mayor Rudy Giuliani might need to borrow one of those raincoats that Wall Street guys used to throw over their heads when Giuliani was perp-walking them back in the day.”

Carts

The B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League, which has scheduled its season-Lakersopeners for Oct. 15, announced on Friday that it has added the Okanagan Lakers to its roster of teams. The Lakers, according to a news release, “are an independent collegiate team based in Kelowna and consisting of student-athletes from both UBC Okanagan and Okanagan College.” . . . Earlier, the Lakers had announced that Kevin Bathurst would be their first head coach. . . . With the Selkirk College Saints having ceased operations in March, the addition of the Lakers brings the BCIHL back up to five teams. . . . Like so many other leagues, the BCIHL didn’t play in 2020-21. The plan for 2021-22 is to have each team play 12 regular-season games with a four-game provincial championship to follow. The BCIHL will return to a 24-game schedule for 2022-23. . . . Chris Munshaw, the BCIHL’s president, also said that the league continues to look to expand. . . . The news release is right here.

In perhaps the poorest decision in the sporting world in 2021, MLB has decided that players in the All-Star Game no longer will wear their team uniforms as they have for years and years. . . . Here’s Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Isn’t it cool to see players wearing their own uniforms at the All-Star Game? It was a perennial treasure for the baseball-card companies, able to line up superstar pairings rarely seen, and I immediately think back to the Topps card ‘Managers’ Dream,’ showing Mickey Mantle alongside Willie Mays in 1962. It’s a big part of the charm for fans as the stars maintain their team identity. Well, MLB is all done with that. Players will be wearing homogeneous, corporate-looking jerseys — that’s right, during this year’s game in Denver — and everyone will look the same. Is that Buster Posey or Max Muncy? From a certain angle, maybe you’re not quite sure. Can you imagine anyone actually thinking this is a good idea?”

Janice Hough, aka the Left Coast Sports Babe, notes: “Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso was arrested Wednesday in Texas for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Silly man. Pot is legal in Los Angeles. In Texas he’d have been better off carrying a couple unregistered guns.”

Noah Doherty, who played briefly in the junior B Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, is one of two men charged after Calgary police said they seized more than $1 million worth of drugs. . . . Doherty, 18, is from Airdrie, Alta. A defenceman, he was pointless in three games with the KIJHL’s Fernie Ghostriders in 2020-21. . . . According to a news release, Calgary police acted on two search warrants and “seized more than 11,000 grams of fentanyl, nearly 500 grams of methamphetamine, 200 grams of cocaine, 87 Oxycodone pills, along with smaller amounts of heroin, crack cocaine, and other unknown substances. The total street value of the drugs seized is estimated to be $1.187 million.” . . . Also charged was Justin Fedoruk, 21, who is from Airdrie. . . . Fedoruk was to have appeared in court on Friday (June 25), with Doherty scheduled to appear on Friday (July 2).

Spiders

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: Jimmy McKnight has signed on as the Edmonton Oil Kings’ head athletic therapist. McKnight had been with the OHL’s Barrie Colts, as head athletic therapist and strength coach since the 2017-18 season. He takes over from Brian Cheeseman, who left the Oil Kings for the CFL’s Edmonton Elks. . . . Brandon Switzer is joining the junior B Creston Valley Thunder Cats of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League as assistant general manager and associate coach. He spent last season scouting for the AJHL’s Whitecourt Wolverines, a role with which he will continue. Prior to that he coached with the bantam AAA Brandon Wheat Kings and the Brandon AAA U17 program.

Marriage

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while wondering about the (mis-)state of NHL officiating . . .

Scattershooting2

Had you suggested to me in January that I would have two shots of Pfizer in me by now, I would have told you that you were nuts. But that’s the case. I got Pfizer’d for a second time on Saturday, 10 days after Dorothy got her second dose. . . . We got all four of our shots at the Tournament Capital Centre in Kamloops and, let me tell you, the operation there was running like a a well-oiled machine. On Saturday afternoon, I had a 2:15 appointment. I walked in the door at 2 o’clock. Got my shot at 2:06. Was on my way out the door at 2:21.

——

On the way home, I made one stop, ducking into a small grocery store to get some plastic utensils. You know . . . just in case.

Here are a few notes of interest from Tyler Kepner of The New York Times, from a piece on the website on Tuesday: “In the 2016 season, there were 3,294 more hits than strikeouts in the majors. By 2018, strikeouts had narrowly overtaken hits. And if the 2021 numbers continue at the current rates, there will be about 5,200 more strikeouts than hits this season.” . . . Yes, MLB has a problem.

It was with some interest that I noticed Ron Robison, the WHL commissioner, WHL2was given a three-year contract extension by the board of governors the other day, and that the pooh-bahs had voted unanimously in favour of it. He has been in his office for 21 years, which is as long as Ed Chynoweth ruled the league, albeit in two separate stints. Interestingly, I don’t ever recall Chynoweth having unanimous support when it came time for a new deal. . . . In fact, I can remember one time, in March of 1976, when Chynoweth actually offered up his resignation. “It isn’t a play for money,” he said. “It is simply that there is too much hassle. It is starting to bother me that all my friends in Saskatoon are going to the airport to take flights out for winter holidays. I go to the airport and fly to Flin Flon.” . . . No, his offer wasn’t accepted.

Time out. My ears are ringing. I just gotta answer this one. It might be an incoming call from Bill Gates. Be right back . . . Ahh, it was only another coal train — or maybe it was an oil train — on the CP mainline across the river.

Wed

First it was Dominique Ducharme, the Montreal Canadiens’ interim head coach, nhl2testing positive for COVID-19, while every other team member has come up negative. . . . And then word came on Sunday that Kelly McCrimmon, the general manager of the Vegas Golden Knights, also has tested positive and is in self-isolation in Montreal. Apparently, no other team member has tested positive. . . . How does it happen that only one person in a team situation like this tests positive? Or is this all of this just an example of COVID-19’s quirky sense of humour? . . . BTW, that fourth Wheat Kings goaltender in the tweet at the top of this post is actually D Ryan Pulock, now of the New York Islanders. He made a game-saving stop on Saturday as the Islanders beat the Tampa Bay Lightning. . . . When McCrimmon was running the Wheat Kings, he drafted Pulock and helped turn him into the player he is today. McCrimmon, of course, also has had a thing or two to do with putting together the Golden Knights. What this means is that McCrimmon could end up having something to do with two teams reaching the NHL final.

A lot will be said and written about Kevin Durant’s airball at the conclusion of Saturday night’s Milwaukee Bucks’ OT victory over the New Jersey Nets. But not enough will be said and written about the defence provided by Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday on the play. He was on Durant like you’re supposed to be and he did it within the rules. . . . BTW, Durant played all 53 minutes. He was 0-for-6 from the field in the OT period. Might his legs have left him?

——

It was Herb Brooks who told his 1980 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team that “the legs feed the wolf.” That might well have been proven on Saturday night when the Nets didn’t eat.

In mentioning here last week that the WHL’s board of governors had scrubbed Vancouverinter-conference play at least for 2021-22, I suggested that it likely was done in an effort to cut costs because teams haven’t had any revenue coming since mid-March of 2019. . . . Ron Toigo, the majority owner of the Vancouver Giants, doesn’t see it that way. . . . Steve Ewen of Postmedia wrote: “Toigo balked at the idea that cost-cutting was the main factor in the league’s decision to do away with these road trips for a season. He says that it’s more about extended travel coming out of these COVID-19 times.” . . . Ewen then quoted Toigo as saying: “I think you want to do what you know you can count on being able to do. I think it’s logistical more than anything. We’re going to do more games with the U.S. teams. There’s good teams in the U.S. The more you see them, the more intense the games get, and the better the rivalries get.”

A NBA-related note from Janice Hough, aka the Left Coast Sports Babe: “A Twitter pal said ‘John Stockton’s stupidity has jinxed the Jazz.’ Hey, as good an explanation as any how a No. 1 seed with a 22-point lead against the Kawhi-less Clippers could not only blow a lead but lose by 12.” . . . She added: “For those who missed it, Stockton appeared in an anti-vaccine video.”

Sharks

Things I wonder about at 3 in the morning . . . How is the WHL going to deal with league and team officials, on-ice officials and players in regards to vaccinations in the lead-up to and during the 2021-22 season? . . . What if the Toronto Blue Jays had a bullpen? . . . How is construction on that new arena that is to house the Winnipeg Ice coming along? Will it be done in time for the 2021-22 season? . . . What’s happening with the lease-related lawsuit the City of Cranbrook filed against the WHL and the Ice’s owners in January? . . . Is it time for the NHL to go back to having one referee on the ice? Or maybe games  should play without any as they seemed to be doing for much of Sunday’s game between Vegas and host Montreal. Either way, the two-man system just doesn’t seem to be doing the job, does it? . . . More than two months have passed us by since the BCHL confirmed that it was leaving the umbrella of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. When will it let the world in on its plans for the immediate future?

Headline at The Beaverton (@TheBeaverton): Man gets away with murder after eyewitness turns out to be NHL referee.

On Thursday, Brazil’s health ministry said there had been 66 positive tests among people involved with the Copa America soccer tournament. By Friday, that number had grown to 82. . . . Gee, maybe it wasn’t a good idea to move the tournament into one of the world’s hotspots? . . . Don’t forget that tournament organizers had said that it would be “the safest sporting event in the world.”

——

Soccer’s World Cup is to be decided in Qatar in 2022 and the country’s government has announced that spectators will have to have been vaccinated in order to be admitted to venues. . . . To date, Qatar has experienced 220,800 positive tests and 585 deaths. . . . The World Cup is scheduled to open on Nov. 21, 2022.

Look, everyone knows that baseball is full of enough numbers to choke a calculator. But this from Dan Shulman, the sometimes voice of the Toronto Blue Jays, about blew me away: “On the heels of (Saturday’s) nine-pitch AB, how about this — Bo Bichette has fouled off 278 pitches this season, more than anyone in baseball . . .” So that got me to wondering if there’s a post-season award for that?

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Confucius

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while wondering whether King James has been vaccinated . . .

Scattershooting2

Larry Brooks, in the New York Post: “You do understand that the mayhem the NHL authorizes on the ice every night of the playoffs, in which players are permitted to hack, rough, interfere and throw punches without consequence, would be tantamount to Major League Baseball allowing — nay, encouraging — pitchers to throw a stream of 100 mph pitches at batters’ heads during its playoffs because of, well, ‘intensity,’ don’t you?” . . . The complete column is right here.

A Sunday morning tweet . . .

Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, had a friend direct him to a website that “tracks NBA players who were on the injured list, players who have been designated as ‘rest,’ meaning they got ‘approved leave’ from the team and players who missed games for ‘personal’ reasons.” . . . That website also tracks money earned by those same players. In the 2020-21 regular season, such players missed 6,319 games and earned, while not playing, US$906,171,634. . . . That website, should you be interested, is right here.

BigBird

If you happened to be watching the last couple of innings of the Detroit Tigers’ 5-0 victory over the host Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night, Dave Sims, the play-by-play guy, provided some funny moments. You will be aware that a lot of broadcasters, those of the homer variety, at least, are reluctant to mention a no-hitter when one is in progress for fear of jinxing the pitcher. In this case, with the Mariners the team without a hit, Sims was quite liberal with mentions of a no-hitter over the last couple of innings. . . . However, it didn’t work as the Mariners were no-hit for the second time in 14 days — this time by right-hander Spencer Turnbull, who led MLB in losses (17) in 2019. . . . When the no-hitter was over, the Mariners’ team batting average had slid all the way to .199. Yes, as a team they were below the Mendoza Line. Might there be more no-hitters in their immediate future? . . . (After the weekend, the Mariners are hitting .198 as a team.) . . . BTW, if you are a baseball fan and weren’t watching, you may be surprised to learn that Angel Hernandez was behind the plate for Turnbull’s no-no. Yes, it’s the first time Hernandez has been the pitch-caller for a no-hitter.

——

The morning after Turnbull’s no-no, The Sports Curmudgeon presented his readers with some numbers:

The Yankees had 5 players hitting below .200 Tuesday.

The Mariners had 4 players hitting below .200 Tuesday.

The Cubs, Pirates, Rangers, Twins and White Sox had 3 players hitting below .200 Tuesday.

The Cardinals, Giants, Mets, Marlins, Orioles, Royals and Tigers had 2 players hitting below .200 Tuesday.

The total for Tuesday was 40 players batting below .200. No wonder we have had so many no-hitters in 2021.

——

And that was before Wednesday night . . .

That’s when RHP Corey Kluber of the New York Yankees tossed a no-hitter against the host Texas Rangers, winning 2-0 in the process. That was the sixth no-hitter of this weak-hitting season. The MLB record for no-hitters in a season belongs to 1884, with eight. The modern-era record (since 1900) is seven (1990, 1991, 2012, 2015). . . . This also is the first time in MLB history that three teams have been no-hit twice in one season. So far, the Mariners, Rangers and Cleveland Indians are on the list.

Here’s John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday:

“While strikeouts are at an all-time high (9.01 per game), hits are at the lowest rate (7.87) since 1908 during the Dead Ball Era (7.75), even lower than 1968, the so-called Year of the Pitcher (7.91) that led to the lowering of the mound by five inches. No wonder the league-wide batting average dropped from .262 in 2009 to .245 last year to .237 this year.”

When the OHL announced dates for its 2021-22 season the other day, it also revealed that the 2022 Memorial Cup tournament will open on Jun 2. As OHL Arena Guide (@ohlarenaguide) pointed out on Twitter: “It will have been seven years and five days (2,562 days) since the WHL champion last won a game at the Memorial Cup as of June 2, 2022.”

An interesting note from variety.com: “In a scary-good box office milestone, the stomach-churning ‘Saw’ franchise has surpassed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales. ‘Spiral,’ the latest entry in the horror series, earned another $4.5 million in North America and $2.67 million overseas this weekend. That haul pushed the property to $1,000,799,533 globally across nine films.”

Why am I pointing this out? Because Oren Koules is one of the producers of all nine ‘Saw’ movies. Koules, now 60, played three seasons (1979-82) in the WHL, splitting time with the Portland Winter Hawks, Great Falls Americans, Medicine Hat Tigers, Spokane Flyers, Calgary Wranglers and Brandon Wheat Kings. . . . His son, Miles, spent three seasons (2012-15) in the WHL, playing with Medicine Hat and Portland.

Horsebarn

Dorothy will be taking part in her eighth Kamloops Kidney Walk, albeit virtually, on June 6. If you would like to be part of her team, you are able to make a donation right here. . . . Thanks in advance for your generosity.

——

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Sasquatch

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while waiting for you to get vaccinated, and you, and you, and . . .

Scattershooting2

Some news from CBC on Sunday morning: “Nova Scotia is reporting 133 new cases of COVID-19, 117 of which are in the Central Zone. There are 822 known active cases. 34 people are in hospital, including 6 in ICU. The Nova Scotia Health Authority lab is still facing a backlog of tests to process.”

So . . . I’m thinking that the Nova Scotia government did the right thing in pulling the plug on the IIHF Women’s World Championship. Perhaps the IIHF should be taken more to task for not having a Plan B, considering the times in which we live. . . . And considering what is going on with the numbers in Alberta these days, how seriously will the IIHF look at Edmonton when it comes to playing host to the event in August?

As has become commonplace the past year, the virus is calling the shots.

Yes, the virus is calling the shots at the World women’s curling championship in Calgary, too. Positive tests among broadcasters resulted in the postponement of Sunday’s morning draw and also means no televised draws until Tuesday at the earliest. . . . Folks, we still have miles to go before we’re out of this so get vaccinated if you want to be able to watch sports in person in the fall of this year.

And then there’s the Olympic torch relay in Japan where eight participants have tested positive. That’s eight. So far. . . . The six most recent positives were involved in traffic control and all wore masks. . . . The Olympic Summer Games are scheduled to being in Tokyo on July 23. Maybe.

Lens

“NFL owners want a crackdown on taunting — as in, more penalty flags — for such offenses as players standing over a prone opponent, getting in an opponent’s face, pointing fingers or Tom Brady flashing his seven Super Bowl rings after throwing a TD pass,” writes Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times. “OK, just kidding on that last one.”

——

Perry, again: “WWE just released 10 rasslers from their contracts. Say it ain’t so, Samoa Joe.”

The Prairie League, an independent baseball league that has teams in Idaho, Colorado, Montana and Utah, has decided that its games this season won’t include extra innings. Instead, tie games will be decided with home run derbies. One player from each team will have five opportunities to homer. If it’s still tied after that, it’ll be sudden-death. . . . Yes, it’s one more sign that baseball’s apocalypse is near.

Something to think about: Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the first player selected in the opening round of the NFL draft on Thursday, never lost a game in four seasons of high school play. Then he went to Clemson and never lost a game in three seasons with the Tigers. . . . Then he got drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have lost 116 games over the past 10 seasons, including 11 of 12 in 2020.

——

More numbers of interest: This is the 54th season for the Oakland A’s in California. Before arriving there, they spent 54 seasons as the Philadelphia Athletics.

Headline at fark.com: Arsenal fans protest owner Stan Kroenke, told to get in line behind entire city of St. Louis.

Parking

The WHL’s developmental season is into the stretch run, with fewer than two weeks remaining. . . . The Manitoba and Saskatchewan teams finished up their schedules in the Regina hub last week. . . . The five Alberta teams will conclude this week, with the last game on Thursday. . . . The U.S. Division is to wrap things up on May 11, with the B.C. Division finishing on May 12. . . .

In the meantime, there were five games on Sunday . . .

F Josh Tarzwell’s OT goal gave the visiting Red Deer Rebels a 5-4 victory over RedDeerthe Calgary Hitmen. . . . The Rebels (4-15-3) have won two in a row after having ended a 13-game losing skid with a 4-2 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday night. . . . Red Deer has one game remaining — it is scheduled to play host to Calgary on Tuesday. . . . The Hitmen (9-8-3) have lost two in a row (0-1-1). . . . F Sean Tschigerl (12) gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 9:31 of the first period, with Red Deer’s Kalan Lind equalizing at 15:46. . . . F Arshdeep Bains put the Rebels up by a goal at 4:19 of the second, only to have F Tyson Galloway (4) get Calgary into a tie at 6:35. . . . Red Deer went ahead, 4-2, on goals from Lind (4), on a PP at 1:12 of the third, and Bains (8), at 3:12. . . . The Hitmen came right back and tied it as F Zac Funk (4) scored at 4:26 and F Adam Kidd (8) added a PP goal at 11:45. . . . F Ben King, who had two Red Deer goals on Saturday, drew three assists in this one. . . . G Chase Coward, who recorded his first WHL victory on Saturday, stopped 29 shots for his second straight triumph. . . .

F Jared Davidson broke a 4-4 tie at 18:08 of the third period as the Seattle SeattleThunderbirds beat the Portland Winterhawks, 5-4, in Kent, Wash. . . . The Thunderbirds (8-11-0) has lost their previous six games. . . . Portland now is 9-7-3. . . . D Ryan Gottfried (1) gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 1:40 of the first period. . . . Portland took the lead on goals from F Kyle Chyzowski (5), at 6:07, and F Jaydon Dureau, on a PP, at 7:40. . . . Seattle then scored two in row, with the goals coming from D Cade McNelly (2), at 9:48 of the first period, and F Lucas Ciona (2), on a PP, at 1:08 of the second. . . . Portland came right back to take a 4-3 lead, with Dureau (7) scoring, on a PP, at 7:32, and F Reece Newkirk (9) counting at 12:00. . . . F Keltie Jeri-Leon (13), who also had two assists, pulled the Thunderbirds into a tie at 15:39 of the second period and that stood until Davidson won it with his seventh goal. . . . F Henry Rybinski had three assists for Seattle. . . . Portland was 2-for-7 on the PP; Seattle was 1-for-3. . . . F Simon Knak of the Winterhawks was awarded a penalty shot at 5:25 of the third period, but he lost control of the puck and wasn’t able to get off a shot. . . . 

F Cole Fonstad scored twice, including the winner, and added an assist as the EverettEverett Silvertips skated to a 3-2 OT victory over the Chiefs in Spokane. . . . Everett improved to 16-4-0, while Spokane, which had won two straight, now is 6-7-4. . . . Fonstad, who has 15 goals, opened the scoring at 6:28 of the first period, and f Jackson Berezowski (5) made it 2-0 just 30 seconds into the second period. . . . The Chiefs tied it on second-period PP goals from F Blake Swetlikoff (6), at 2:12 and 19:03 of the second. . . . Fonstad won it at 3:06 of extra time. . . . F Gage Goncalves and D Ronan Seeley each had two assists for Everett. . . . G Dustin Wolf stopped 30 shots to earn the victory over G Mason Beaupit, who also made 30 saves. . . .

The Prince George Cougars scored three times in the game’s first six minutes PGand went to post a 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants in Kamloops. . . . The Cougars (7-7-3) have points in four straight (3-0-1). . . . The Giants are 10-8-0. . . . F Koehn Ziemmer got the Cougars started at 1:54 of the first period, with F Craig Armstrong (7) making it 2-0 at 4:11. Ziemmer’s sixth goal, at 6:00, gave Prince George a 3-0 lead on four shots. . . . F Tristen Nielsen got Vancouver on the scoreboard at 8:10. . . . The Cougars put it away with a pair of second-period goals, from F Tyson Upper (4) and F Blake Eastman (1). . . . Nielsen, with his 13th, rounded out the game’s scoring in the third period. . . . Vancouver held a 31-16 edge in shots, including 11-5 in the second period and 10-3 in the third. . . . G Taylor Gauthier stopped 29 shots for the Cougars. . . . Cougars F Jonny Hooker sat out a second game after being suspended for a high hit on F Connor Zary of the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday. Zary has missed two games. Hooker’s suspension still is shown as TBD on the WHL website. . . .

In Lethbridge, F Ryan Chyzowski scored three times to help the Medicine Hat TigersTigers to a 6-2 victory over the Hurricanes. . . . The Tigers improved to 14-7-1, while the Hurricanes slid to 9-12-2. . . . The teams were tied 1-1 after the first period, D Eric Van Impe (4) scoring for Medicine Hat and F Ty Nash (3) replying for the Hurricanes. . . . The Tigers took control by scoring the next four goals. F Oren Shtrom (5), on a PP, F Noah Danielson (3) and Chyzowski counted in the second period. Chyzowski added his second goal at 2:07 of the third. . . . F Jett Jones (6) got Lethbridge’s second goal at 8:22, with Chyzwoski completing his hat trick with his 11th goal into an empty net. . . . There were 79 shots on goal in this one, 40 of those from the Tigers. . . . Medicine Hat G Garin Bjorklund blocked 37 shots, three more than Jared Picklyk of Lethbridge. . . . Medicine Hat was 1-for-3 on the PP; Lethbridge’s PP didn’t get even one opportunity.

EarlyBird

Don’t forget that my wife, Dorothy, is preparing to take part in her eighth Kamloops Kidney Walk, albeit virtually, on June 6. If you would like to be part of her team, you are able to make a donation right here.

——

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Car

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while remembering the writings of Jim Coleman . . .

Scattershooting2Behave

Don’t think for a minute that we are done with COVID-19, because we’re not . . . not even close.

On Sunday, the NBA’s Orlando Magic revealed that head coach Steve Clifford has tested positive and will miss at least five games. He actually tested positive twice in a three-day span. . . . Clifford also has had two vaccinations, having received his second Moderna dose on Thursday. But because two weeks haven’t elapsed, he isn’t considered fully vaccinated. . . . Assistant coach Tyrone Corbin ran things for Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers. . . .

And then there’s Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu, who tested negative twice before heading to Spain for the Madrid Open, only to test positive upon her arrival. . . . So she won’t be playing in the tournament. . . . “I am feeling good, I’m resting and continuing to follow the health protocols and safety guidelines,” she said in a statement.

If MLB is really serious about shortening the time it takes to play its games, it needs to take a long, hard look at its replay system. Oh boy, does it ever!

Here’s Bob Molinaro of the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot:

“Two months after the Super Bowl, NFL draft palaver engulfs sports TV and radio. Two weeks into its season, what you mostly hear about Major League Baseball is that its replay system is a farce. Therein lies a problem for the National Past-its-time.”

And one more fro Molinaro, who thinks it might be time for all sports to do away with replay reviews:

“Don’t know about others, but I could live out my life perfectly well without official replays. Just as I lived a perfectly happy childhood absorbed by sports long before reviewing calls became a thing. I just wish all leagues and sports could keep things moving. Replay rules prevent that from happening.”

You know what? It’s hard to disagree.

——

Jack Finarelli, aka The Sports Curmudgeon, chose to focus on replay reviews in one of his rants last week. Here’s part of it . . .

“We got to where we are with ‘instant replay’ because we looked at technological wizardry through rose-colored glasses and imagined that it would lead us to a land flowing with milk and honey. The premise sounded irrefutable — replay would always ‘get it right.’ The problem is that it does not always ‘get it right’ and that its scope has been expanded to too many aspects of the games such that it is an intrusion and not a godsend.

“Perhaps we should not be so surprised to come to such a realization.  Technology has been welcomed as a glorious blessing in many parts of our lives only to let us recognize down the line that it may not be all it was cracked up to be. Social media platforms would be one such technological encroachment in society that we now recognize is ‘less than a perfect addition’ to our lives. Just because technology can do something doesn’t mean that we need to put up with technology’s baggage as it does that something . . . sometimes less is better.”

That rant in whole is right here.

——

I watched the Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants on Saturday night, simply because there isn’t anything better than listening to Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper call a game. . . . When it ended, I switched over to the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. After four video reviews, I went to the PVR and watched two episodes of Hogan’s Heroes. Seriously! . . . The Sunday game between the Padres and Dodgers was a whole lot better, especially with the sound turned down to blot out some of the ESPN crew’s endless nattering and the infatuation with numbers, numbers and more numbers.

Here’s Scott Ostler, in the San Francisco Chronicle:

“The Oakland A’s unveiled plans to spend $12 billion on their Howard Terminal development, which will include a ballpark. A’s owner John Fisher, who can’t afford to pay his baseball team anywhere near a major-league average payroll, must have found some money under his mattress.

“A $12-billion development, including a $1 billion ballpark? The line of skeptics starts with Bay Area sports management and marketing genius Andy Dolich, who says, “I’ll believe it when I see Gov. Caitlyn (Jenner) throwing out the first pitch.”

Apostrophe

It would appear that the Portland Winterhawks are in the process of replacing their longtime logo. At least, all signs seem to point in that direction. For a whole lot more, check out this story right here from Jason Cohen that appeared in Portland Monthly.

Meanwhile, the Winterhawks were involved in one of the WHL’s six games on Sunday, but the night belonged to F Lynden McCallum of the Brandon Wheat Kings as he came within a handful of seconds of breaking a record that has stood since 1972. . . .

F Cole Nagy scored the Swift Current Broncos’ last three goals in a 4-2 victory Scurrentover the Moose Jaw Warriors in the Regina hub. . . . The Broncos (6-16-1) have won two in a row. . . . The Warriors (8-13-2) have lost three straight (0-2-1). . . . Swift Current led 1-0 after the first period on a PP goal by F Raphael Pelletier (3). . . . F Riley Krane (5) pulled Moose Jaw even at 1:17 of the second, only to have Nagy put the Broncos back in front at 6:19. . . . D Cole Jordan (3) got the Warriors back into a tie at 9:21. . . . Nagy snapped the tie at 11:29 of the third period, on a PP, then completed his hat trick with an empty-netter at 19:21. . . . Nagy now has six goals. He went into this season with five goals in 59 games. . . . The Broncos were 2-for-4 on the PP; the Warriors were 0-for-3. . . . Swift Current got 36 saves from G Isaac Poulter. . . .

F Lynden McCallum scored four PP goals as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the BrandonRegina Pats, 5-1. . . . The victory guaranteed that the Wheat Kings (18-3-2) will finish atop the Regina hub standings. . . . Brandon has won seven in a row. . . . The Pats now are 9-11-3. . . . McCallum struck four times in two minutes 58 seconds, just off the WHL record. The WHL record book has F Boyd Anderson scoring four times in 2:35 (or was it 2:39?) during the third period as his Medicine Hat Tigers beat the host Flin Flon Bombers, 10-1, on Oct. 7, 1972. According to the record book, he scored at 10:08, 10:17, 11:50 and 12:47, which would be 2:39. . . . F Ridley Greig (10) of Brandon scored the game’s first goal, at 7:53 of the first period. It came while shorthanded. He leads the WHL with four such goals and Brandon leads with seven. . . . F Tanner Howe scored his first WHL goal for Regina to tie the game at 3:47 of the second period. A fourth-round pick in the 2020 bantam draft, Howe was playing in his seventh game. . . . McCallum, who counted his first WHL hat trick, broke the tie at 18:10 and scored again at 18:41. He then added goals at 0:27 and 1:08 of the third. . . . McCallum has 19 goals and six assists in 21 games. . . . Brandon was 4-for-5 on the PP. . . . Regina was 0-for-6. . . . The Wheat Kings got four assists from each of D Braden Schneider and F Ben McCartney. . . . G Ethan Kurger stopped 34 shots for Brandon. . . .

F Jalen Luypen broke a 2-2 tie at 14:20 of the third period as the host Edmonton EdmontonOil Kings scored a 3-2 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . The Oil Kings (17-1-1) have points in nine straight (8-0-1) and will finish atop the Central Division (minus the Swift Current Broncos) this season. . . . Medicine Hat (12-6-1) has lost three in a row — all three were to the Oil Kings this weekend. . . . Edmonton is 14-2-1 against Medicine Hat over the past three seasons. . . . Luypen, who has 14 goals, opened the scoring at 4:04 of the first period and F Josh Williams (12) made it 2-0 at 6:29 of the second. . . . The Tigers tied it on goals from F Nick McCarry (6), at 9:34 of the second, and F Lukas Svejkovsky (10), on a PP, at 3:54 of the third. . . . F Cole Clayton had two assists for Medicine Hat. . . . Edmonton F Jake Neighbours had one assist, running his point streak to 19 games. Yes, he has at least a point in every Edmonton game this season. . . . The Oil Kings held a 37-19 edge in shots, including 16-5 in the second period. . . .

F Logan Barlage scored twice as the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the LethCalgary Hitmen, 4-1. . . . Lethbridge (8-10-2) had lost its previous three games, including two to Calgary. . . . The Hitmen (8-7-2) had points in each of their previous four games (3-0-1). . . . F Sean Tschigerl (10), who had three goals in Saturday’s 7-2 victory over Lethbridge, gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 2:43 of the first period. . . . D Logan McCutcheon tied it with his first WHL goal at 13:47. . . . A third-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft, McCutcheon was playing in his 23rd game, 19 of them this season. . . . Barlage, who has seven goals, scored the next two goals, both via the PP, at 17:41 of the second and 3:14 of the third. . . . F Noah Boyko (10) completed the scoring at 16:27. . . . The Hurricanes got 40 saves from G Carl Tetachuk. . . .

The Portland Winterhawks scored the game’s last four goals as they beat the PortlandAlternatevisiting Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-1. . . . Portland (8-5-3) has won two in a row, having beaten the Thunderbirds, 6-3, in Kent, Wash., on Saturday. . . . The Thunderbirds (7-9-0) have lost four in a row. . . . On Sunday, F Keltie Jeri-Leon (11) gave Seattle a 1-0 lead just 22 seconds into the game. . . . The lead held into the second period when F Gabe Klassen, who has four goals, scored twice, at 9:10, on a PP, and 15:24. . . . Portland got third-period insurance goals from F Simon Knak (10), who also had two assists, and F Mason Mannek, who got the empty-netter. . . . Portland had a 30-18 edge in shots. . . . G Dante Gianuzzi stopped 17 shots for the victory. He is 5-5-3, 2.71, .908. . . . Joshua Critzer of PNW Hockey Talk tweeted after the game that the four Portland players who had been with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars could play this week. F Jack O’Brien has completed his quarantine and could play on Tuesday and Friday against the visiting Everett Silvertips, while F Cross Hanas, D Clay Hanus and F James Stefan are in quarantine and could play Saturday against visiting Tri-City depending on the Americans’ status in regards to COVID-19 protocol. . . . Critzer also reported that Mike Johnston, the Winterhawks’ GM and head coach, is going to Texas for the U18 IIHF World Championship, so associate coach Kyle Gustafson will be in charge in his absence. . . . If you’re wondering, Stefan had 28 points, 10 of them goals, in 41 games with Lincoln, while Hanus had seven goals and 20 assists in 36 games, Hanas had three goals and 13 assists in 27 games, and O’Brien had a goal and six assists in 23 games. . . .

G Dylan Garand stopped 18 shots to earn the shutout as the Kamloops Blazers Kamloopsbeat the Vancouver Giants, 2-0. . . . The game was played in Kamloops, with the Giants as the home team. . . . Kamloops (11-2-0) has won four in a row. . . . Vancouver (9-5-0) has lost three straight. . . . Garand has two shutouts this season and seven in his career. . . . G Trent Miner had blanked the Blazers twice, both by 4-0 counts, this season. He stopped 28 shots in this one. . . . F Daylan Kueffler (2) scored the game’s first goal, at 11:36 of the second period, and F Connor Zary (6) got the other one, at 10:28 of the third. . . . F Josh Pillar had two assists.

Spell

Hey, want to be part of a team? Dorothy, my wife of almost 49 years, had a kidney transplant on Sept. 23, 2013, and now is preparing to take part in her eighth straight Kamloops Kidney Walk. It happens virtually on June 6. You are able to join her team with a donation right here. . . . Thanks to your generosity, she has surpassed her original goal, so she has gone ahead and raised it.

——

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

JUST NOTES: Darren Dupont of Dupont Media tweeted on Sunday that he has been told “Brandin Cote will be announced as assistant coach (and Mike Babcock’s successor)” with the U of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team. Babcock has volunteered to work as the Huskies’ head coach for the next two seasons. He was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 20, 2019, but remains under contract to the NHL team. Cote spent five seasons with the Spokane Chiefs (1997-02); Babcock was the head coach for three of those (1997-2000). Cote, 40, is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Swift Current Broncos.

Commas

Scattershooting on a Sunday night while wondering if this is the week when summer arrives . . .

Scattershooting2

The Vancouver Canucks had hoped to re-open team facilities on Sunday, but the Canucksvirus apparently wasn’t consulted before those plans were made.

Now, if all goes well, those facilities may re-open today.

On Sunday, the Canucks removed F Adam Gaudette from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list, but F Jay Beagle was added to it. Beagle had been on injured reserve. Adding Beagle to the list left 19 Vancouver players on it.

The NHL announced Sunday afternoon that “although the Player has not been around the team during the relevant time period (since March 31), the League’s, NHLPA’s and Club’s medical groups determined that the prudent decision was to keep the facilities closed for an additional day.”

Gaudette was the first of the Canucks to test positive. He was removed from a practice session on March 30 after the Canucks received his test result. D Travis Hamonic went on the list on March 31. The Canucks also have had three coaches, one member of the support staff and three players from the taxi squad test positive. There also are an undisclosed number of family members who have tested positive.

The Canucks, who last played a game on March 24, still are scheduled to return to game action on Friday against the visiting Edmonton Oilers with the Toronto Maple Leafs to visit on Saturday.

The NHL is expecting the Canucks to begin with six games in nine nights. Their first nine games are to be played in 14 nights. Yikes!

Vaccine

There aren’t words in any language to describe how much I despise the MLB extra-inning rule under which a team starts with a runner on second base. It’s a gimmick, nothing more and nothing less, and MLB should be embarrassed by stooping so low as to use it.

Old friend Neate Sager, who doesn’t mind the MLB gimmickry, is writing at neatefreatsports these days, and it’s worth it for you to pay a visit, especially if you like your current events mixed with humour and just a dash of snark.

Here he is leading into a bit on the Vancouver Canucks’ recent travails:

“You might end up on injured reserve with strained credulity if you believe the Vancouver Canucks, who have only four players who are ‘not on the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocol list,’ are going to complete their schedule.

“Deadspin, which can say it since it has no client relationship with the NHL like those of the telcos in Canada, pointed out the timeline makes it impossible. The league’s best-case scenario is for Vancouver to return to play around April 16, but that seems too optimistic by half, and half again.”

I highly recommend that you check him out right here.

Hey, ESPN, I tried to watch your telecast — the Philadelphia Phillies were playing the Braves in Atlanta on Sunday night. I really did. In the end, I did watch it, but with no sound. You’re drowning a game that needs to breathe in order to be enjoyed. And the numbers . . . so many numbers as to give a baseball fan vertigo.

So . . . I mentioned this Expos-Padres discrepancy to Dorothy on Friday night. “Yeah,” she replied, “but the Padres lasted longer than the Expos, so there you go!”

Information that you need to know. . . . According to Forbes magazine, Terry Pegula, who owns among other things the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, has improved his net worth from US$5 billion to $5.4 billion over the past year. The rich people, of course, keep score by dollar bills. On Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires, $5.4 billion puts you in 520th place. . . . Who’s No. 1? Jeff Bezos, Mr. Amazon, tops the list for the fourth straight year, this time at $177 billion. . . . Forbes’ numbers show the world contains 2,775 billionaires, up 660 from a year ago.

On the subject of dollars, here’s a note from Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “A baseball bat — a 34-inch, 36-ounce Bill Dickey model Louisville Slugger used by Lou Gehrig in 1938, his final full MLB season — drew 26 bids at SCP Auctions and sold this month for $715,120. Or 23 times the $31,000 the Yankees paid Gehrig to play that year.”

——

“A fan in Anaheim threw an inflatable trash can onto the field during an Astros-Angels game,” reports Perry. “Three players on the Houston bench immediately yelled, ‘Pitch-out!’ ”

With MLB having yanked its All-Star Game out of Atlanta because of Georgia’s new restrictive voting legislation, there were mutterings that the Masters should follow suit and move. To which Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote: “If you’re waiting in line for golfers to boycott, bring some bottled water.”

Ferguson Jenkins is 78 now, but it’s never too late for a statue. Yes, the Chicago Cubs are going to honour Jenkins with a statue outside Wrigley Field. . . . Here’s Steve Simmons, in the Toronto Sun: “Of course, times have changed and the way in which starting pitchers are utilized has changed but in his day, and for 19 seasons, Jenkins stood alone among Canadian ballplayers and Canadian athletes — and sometimes we seem to forget all that.” . . . As Simmons points out, Jenkins once had six straight seasons with at least 20 victories. He once started 42 games in a season. He threw more than 300 innings in four different seasons. He threw 30 complete games in 1971 when he won the Cy Young Award. In one seven-season stretch, Jenkins threw 272 complete games. . . . And, no, his arm never fell off.

Here’s a memo from Janice Hough, aka The Left Coast Sports Babe: “Dear Media. It’s called ‘The Masters.’ Not ‘The Masters Without Tiger Woods.’ Thank you.”

Castle

There were four games in the WHL on Sunday. Some highlights and tidbits . . .

The Seattle Thunderbirds scored the game’s last two goals to beat the host Tri-SeattleCity Americans, 3-2. . . . The Americans (5-6-0) held a 2-1 lead after getting two late first-period goals from F Sasha Mutala (4), at 18:04, and D Mitchell Brown (2), at 18:54. . . . F Henri Rybinski’s second goal of the season, on a PP, tied it at 4:21 of the second period. . . . F Jordan Gustafson (4) scored the game’s final goal, on another PP, at 5:33. . . . Seattle (6-5-0) was 3-for-9 on the PP; Tri-City was 1-for-4. . . . The Thunderbirds won’t have F Conner Roulette again this WHL season. He now joins Canada’s U18 team for the IIHF World championship that opens in Texas on April 26. . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders scored three times in the third period to beat the RaidersSwift Current Broncos, 4-2, in Regina. . . . F Cole Nagy (3) scored on a PP at 6:58 of the third period to get the Broncos into a 1-1 tie. . . . D Landon Kosior (2), on a PP, put the Raiders back out front and F Evan Herman (5) stretched the lead at 12:03. . . . F Mathew Ward (4) got the Broncos back to within a goal at 14:11, but F Eric Pearce (6) put it away with the empty-netter. . . . G Max Paddock stopped 35 shots for the Raiders, including a second-period penalty shot attempt by F Michael Farren. . . . The Broncos got 33 saves from G Reid Dyck, including a second-period penalty shot attempt by Herman. . . . The Raiders (5-8-3) had lost their previous three games (0-2-1). . . . The Broncos (3-12-1) have lost five straight. . . . Raiders D Nolan Allan played his final WHL game of this season. He is going into isolation and then will join Canada’s U18 team for the IIHF World championship in Frisco and Plano, Texas. It opens on April 26. . . .

G Nolan Maier turned aside 42 shots to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 3-2 Bladesvictory over the Brandon Wheat Kings in Regina. . . . The victory lifted the Blades (12-2-2) into first place in the Regina hub, two points ahead of the Wheat Kings (12-3-2). The Wheat Kings had points in each of their previous nine games (8-0-1). . . . Saskatoon now has points in four straight (3-0-1). . . . The Blades took a 2-0 lead on PP goals from F Chase Wouters (6) at 18:56 of the first period and F Kyle Crnkovic (7) at 4:50 of the second. . . . F Ben McCartney (8) pulled Brandon to within a goal on a PP at 10:16. . . . Saskatoon F Brandon Lisowsky (6) stretched the lead to two at 16:44 of the third. . . . Brandon got back to within a goal when F Ridly Greig (6) counted at 19:54. . . . Saskatoon was 2-for-5 on the PP; Brandon was 1-for-6. . . . G Ethan Kruger stopped 19 shots for Brandon. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers unleashed a 60-shot attack and got four assists from F KamloopsConnor Zary in beating the Victoria Royals, 4-3, in Kelowna. . . . At one point in the third period, the Royals led 3-2 as they were being outshot, 51-12. . . . The Royals erased a 2-1 deficit on goals from F Alex Bolshakov (3), his second of the game, at 6:33 of the third period and F Ty Yoder (2), at 9:16. . . . F Josh Pillar (3) pulled Kamloops into a tie at 13:16 and D Inaki Baragano (1) got the winner at 16:04. . . . Zary has 14 points, including 11 assists, in seven games. . . . Victoria G Adam Evanoff finished with 56 saves, 40 more than Dylan Garand of the Blazers. . . . The Blazers now are 6-1-0. . . . The Royals are 1-6-1 and have lost three in a row. . . . Victoria was without F Keanu Derungs, F Tarun Fizer, F Riley Gannon, F Matthew Hodson and D Noah Lamb, and was able to dress only 10 forwards. . . . The Royals are adding F Ryan Spizawka, a seventh-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft, to their roster. His twin brother, Jason, the 19th overall pick in 2019, already is on the roster. They are from Victoria. . . . The WHL season is over for Kamloops F Logan Stankoven, who will play for Canada at the IIHF U18 World championship in Texas later this month. He put up 10 points, including seven goals, in six games this season.

Please don’t forget that Dorothy, who had a kidney transplant more than seven years ago, is preparing to take part in her eighth straight Kamloops Kidney Walk. Unfortunately, it will be a virtual walk for a second straight year, but that won’t keep her from fund-raising on behalf of the Kidney Foundation. If you would like to help her out, you are able to make a donation right here.

——

If you are interested in being a living kidney donor, more information is available here:

Living Kidney Donor Program

St. Paul’s Hospital

6A Providence Building

1081 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

Tel: 604-806-9027

Toll free: 1-877-922-9822

Fax: 604-806-9873

Email: donornurse@providencehealth.bc.ca

——

Vancouver General Hospital Living Donor Program – Kidney 

Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre

Level 5, 2775 Laurel Street

Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9

604-875-5182 or 1-855-875-5182

kidneydonornurse@vch.ca

——

Or, for more information, visit right here.

Random